Thursday, May 17, 2007

Suns fall short in Game 5: There's no question -- Amare and Boris would have been worth at least the few extra points needed for the Suns to beat the Spurs in Phoenix, not lose the game 88-85.

Here's the X-factor for Game 6: Can the same "outrage" that nearly earned Phoenix an upset in Game 5 fuel the Suns on the road when Amare and Boris return to the lineup? I think it can, setting up an epic Game 7.

Meanwhile, Robert Horry -- who will not be playing in Game 6 -- says Steve Nash flopped. One man's flop is another man's "court-savvy."

NBA Must-Read: The Big Picture interviews Henry Abbott. (Zach does the best interviews with sports bloggers that you'll find. Always interesting and illuminating. And Henry is the sports-blog universe's resident "crossover" star.)

Speaking of Henry, he pulled the best quotes from David Stern's radio interview with Dan Patrick, which was the biggest ass-whooping of the playoffs so far. Rhetorically, DP is no match for Stern. Very few people are. Here's the link. Bottom line: Stern's point is very similar to the one I made yesterday -- primary blame goes to Amare and Boris for breaking the rule they should have known would bite them, their team and their playoff chances.

Nets beat Cavs in Cleveland in ugly Game 5: How have the Nets turned their series with the Cavs into a six-game minimum, with a chance to send it to 7 with a totally possible win in New Jersey in Game 6? Last night, they held LeBron in check: 20 points on 5/14 FG shooting and 5 assists. They needed every bit of that D, given Jersey's 6 4th-quarter points. Ugh.

Bulls-Pistons, Game 6: I'm predicting the atmosphere at the UnitedCenter in Chicago tonight for Game 6 between the Bulls and Pistons will be as rowdy as it has been since Michael Jordan left town.

MLB Stud, Active: Cole Hamels, who worked a perfect game into the 7th and finished with a 2-hitter in 8 IP. Best young LHP in MLB?

MLB Stud, Retired: Hank Aaron, who will get a bigger role with the Atlanta Braves following their sale from Time Warner to Liberty Media.

MLB Stud, Team: The Devil Rays, who notched another win at Disney World. Novelty = Wins! (Seriously, at this rate, they should consider a full-time relocation.)

MLB Dud: Josh Beckett, who will miss his start tomorrow with a skin issue on his finger. (Is that the same as a blister?)

Is there a videotape of Michael Vick watching dog-fighting at his house? Oh please oh please oh please let this exist. If you happen to have it, please upload to YouTube promptly. Thank you.

(Meanwhile, between prosecutors and investigators, the pressure is tightening around Vick. The questions remain the same as they were when the story first broke: (a) Will he be charged/convicted? (b) What will "Get-Tough" Goodell do about it, particularly given that Vick is one of the league's most popular players?)

Will the NFL play with European fans? Ticket sales for the London game are a good proxy: 40,000 sold in 90 minutes. Um, yes: The NFL playing in Europe will work.

Oh, NOW Brett Favre is going to be at Packers mini-camp. As usual, he is all about messing with the minds of his team execs and his fans.

Stephon Marbury to appear on Oprah tomorrow: The biggest affirmation yet of his $14.98 sneaker program, which has single-handedly turned Marbury from self-absorbed athlete-jerk into magnanimous philanthropist. You can still dislike the player, but I have yet to hear of anyone who disapproves of what he's doing with his shoes.

Is Jim Buss ripping Phil Jackson about the coach's ripping players in the media or more about the coach dating his sister, Jeannie?

Indy 500: Danica had the fastest lap. The Danica subplot remains the biggest reason to tune in to the race.

Preakness: Street Sense is a 7-5 favorite. Come on: You've got to pick a different horse.

NBA Draft: Brandan Wright hires an agent, which means there's no turning back to UNC. Not that he was ever going to, given his locked position within the Top 5 picks.

Patterson will step on campus as the best power forward in the SEC and one of the top 3 PFs in the country next year, along with fellow one-and-done frosh Michael Beasley and Tyler "Great in College, No NBA Future" Hansbrough.

Hope Kentucky fans will enjoy Patterson for the one year they have him before he jumps to the NBA. (Does that sound like a Florida fan bitter at being snubbed? I'll 'fess up to being disappointed, at the very least...)

Navel-gazing: I don't check my blog traffic as relentlessly as others, but I noticed that Monday, I got more page views than I had in a month -- and that was with my unusual absence all day from posting. At that rate, I will find the most blog success by simply not posting anything. Sheesh...

67 comments:

I'm glad Dan noticed there was a lot of activity on the day he was away. But that came from alot of pissed off Orioles' fans.

As for Marbury, it just proves sometimes if you get to know more about a player, your perception can change. I always thought he was just a selfish, me-first player (still is on the court). But the shoe thing has made me respect him alot. Just like I was never an Iverson fan until the 2004 Olympics. When i saw Iverson put in so much to try and win for his country, I have been a fan ever since.

If Tank and Vick don't both sit for a couple games this year, the NFL will lose all "get tough" credibility. I wonder how much they will miss Schaub given the back-up will get 5-6 starts this year, given suspension and injury to Vick.

Can Buffalo win the next three and perform the rare come back from a 3-0 deficit? I think they can. They are a better team than Ottawa and were competitive in all three losses. Hockey is the most random of sports in terms of a weaker team being able to beat a stronger team. My list of the big 4 in terms of "on any given day"

Every year when the Yankees play the White Sox I'm reminded how bad the White Sox announcers really are. I had to watch both games on MLB.TV yesterday with the sound off. Dan Mega I don't know how you put up having to listenen to "The Hawk" everyday.

most of the traffic was from angry orioles fans, that is all. also that was the worst possible result for stern, i mean they lose by 3 if the spurs win this sereies i quit the nba for the rest of this season.

NFL tickets sold out because it is a novelty event...kind of like the circus.The NFL would be smart to have a few games a year in Europe...but close to US military installations. The GIs will surely keep sales high for those few games. And don't schedule the games at the same time as a soccer match.

@ Cycledan Buffalo was not competitive in the first 3 games at all, you just looked at the score and think it was, Game 3 (1-0 win) especially when Ottawa outshot Buffalo 32-15, only reason it wasn't 6-0 was Ryan Miller's outstanding play. Buffalo's power play and penalty killing has been horrendous as well. Ottawa is every bit as good as Buffalo and only finished behind them in the regular season cause they had a slow start in Oct/Nov.

Most of the traffic was probably the same people coming back to see if you had posted yet.

My favorite moment of yesterday was the audio between Dan Patrick and Stern. That was absolutely awesome. And then Golic and Dan this morning were going at it. I have a feeling Pheonix wins game 6, only to lose game 7 on a Robert Horrey 3. How's that for a storyline?

Nash flopped? Sorry Horry, don't buy it. This guy got a gash in his nose from Parker's head, and it was Parker that was down on the court. Nash is a Canadian kid that played hockey, they don't flop (not the good ones).

Cole Hamels picked a great night to pitch an almost perfect game. It was Ryan Howard Bobble head night and the place was packed. What does that tell you about how well this kid can play with a hyped crowd. They were standing with every pitch starting in the 5th or 6th.

I used to bike when it was 9 miles. But now it's 27. I'd prefer not to take 2 hours to get here and then home again.

The Suns sure could use Joey Crawford for game 6 with his anti-Duncan agenda, huh?

If Beckett can't go, perhaps Devern Hansack could be called up to go for a 2nd straight no-hitter....

Kurt, did you try radio audio with your muted mlb.tv? I was always under the impression that the delay's an issue. Either way, I'm surprised MLB gives you the option of home/away English/Spanish, 4 choices of audio, but only 1 choice of video.

Flubby,The sneakers are selling. There are lines out the door and new shipments sell out almost immediately.

Brian,I used to ride to work all the time when I lived in Woodbury, CT and worked in Middlebury. It was a beautiful ride and people were always very courteous. Now in Long Island it is not quite as nice but what are you going to do?

umm...dan...think about it...let's use me for an example....i checked your site what...5 times that day? when there's a post it usually is one and done....so extra 4 hits for nothing...not rocket science here..guessing stats wasn't your strong suit at gator tech?

Yeah, Dan I checked numerous times as well so that I could post my studs and duds for the day. Normally I'd just refresh the comments, but then I had to refresh the main page instead. But if it helps you sleep at night thinking otherwise, more power to you.

Dan, love the Indy 500 mention but Danica is hardly the only story out there (shes fastest and has the best chance to win of them) but there are 3 girls this year and all are drivers and none are novelty.

-Plus other great stories like Davey Hamilton racing for the first time since being crippled for 2 years and having 21 surgeries to rebuild his feet and lower legs after a crash in 2001 (PLUS in order to race he had to return a six-figure insurance payment to the IRL, how about a discussion on whether or not you'd be willing to give up that money to race again)

-Andretti Green Racing has 5 drivers who are a combined 0-27 in the Indy 500 (Michael Andretti counts for 15 of them)

Is Vick really one of "the league's most popular players"? What's the measure? Jersey sales? By all accounts he's a spoiled brat who makes questionable decisions, hangs out with various shady characters, lacks personal responsibility, and is a mediocre NFL QB. Maybe he is "popular" because Rich McKay and Arthur Blank are idiots; they (a) gave him an untradeable, huge contract and (b) had to trade the promising Matt Schaub as a result.

What is the Master of Horror thinking leaving The Who off of the list? Although Zeppelin may be overrated by many, Led Zeppelin II is one of the greatest albums ever and he surely could have picked a song from that album.

I just spent way too much time looking at Stephen King's top 25. I agree with futurelegendvinceyoung that it wasn't my list but hey, it was SK's list and not mine. I would have Pink Floyd on the list along with the Who as well. I am not a big sex pistols fan. I would put the Offspring and Green Day on the list. I certainly wouldn't have Elvis on my list but I would have Buddy Holly. It would be hard to come up with an single song though.

The Punk and the Godfather along with Dr. Jimmy from the Who's Quadrophenia (one of the greatest albums of all time) would make my list. Probably Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd but One Fine Day might make it as well. November Rain by Guns and Roses. Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty (sp?) would also make it.

Black Sabbath's Iron Man, Deep Purple Smoke on the Water are also on. Kind of heavy on classic rock but they stood the test of time.

Everyday or Rave on by Buddy Holly. I am not much into 50's music but BH was a genius. Have to mix in Bob Dylan's Hurricane as long as we go way back.

Minority and Basket Case by Green Day are great songs. Minority is especially appropriate for Jerry Fallwell who just died. Staring at the Sun and Why Don't You Get a Job are songs by the Offspring I can listen to over and over.

May as well top it off with Nothing Else Matters by Metallica.

Of course I have to go get some work done so I can't put these in any kind of order and I am sure I left something out.

The Beach Boys were rock 45 years ago....and when you factor in the four-part harmony with it, they're not a bad band of that era.

My tastes have always tend to be less than the obvious "radio" songs by popular bands. Give me "When the Levee Breaks" by Zep any day. Green Day's "Welcome to Paradise". VH's "House of Pain"...GnR's "Rocket Queen"....and of course, "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey" by the Beatles.

Julian Tavarez is getting some possible studwork in this afternoon. 1 run in 7 IP so far.

For mellow music, certainly Simon and Garfunkel, Cat Stevens and James Taylor wrote some incredible tunes. Even Bad Bad Leroy Brown by Jim Crotche (sp?) is a song that stood the test of time. However it depends if I am making a list of widely accepted songs or my songs. I don't typically listen to them on my own so they don't make my list.

I listened to a Best of Joe Jackson CD I hadn't heard in a while. Some great songs on there. All the classic radio hits from the 80's.

I feel like a mellow song had better be REALLY good....otherwise it just comes off as workplace radio schlock! I could see the occasional James Taylor or S&G song being a good addition to a CD for a long car ride....just not too much at once ;-)

Too often it's "easy" to do the typical power ballad, or mush-song to try to appeal to a broader audience!

I don't like the Beach Boys much at all...they sound like they're whining. JMO but I'm surprised Steven King had them on his list.

"Over the Hills and Far Away" is by far my favorite Zeppelin song. I had my 2-year-old jamming in the car to it. I'd definitely be in my Top 5.

I'm like cycledan...I'd have a list of so many different types of music. (I'd choose "Rave On" by Buddy Holly and "Basket Case" by Green Day) I'd have to have at least one song by U2, probably "One" and something from one of their earliest releases, like "Bad"; I'd have some older REM on there, like "Turn You Inside Out" and "Begin the Begin". Tesla's "Love Song" is awesome, as is Skid Row's "I Remember You"...can you tell I was an '80s child!? HAHA

Between this and the Indians' game, I have accomplished NOTHING for work this afternoon. Good thing the boss is out car and motorcycle shopping.

How could I forget some Aerosmith!? Geez. I'd definitely have "Sweet Emotion" on the list.

Cat Stevens is great. Have his GH** CD. James Taylor's too. Those are good driving tunes when we go to the Outer Banks. Then I put in something rockin' to wake up. My boss has one of Bob Segar's GH CDs here in the office, and after it was playing for a while, I realized that it was great, and I liked every song on there. "Roll Me Away" is a great song by him that I've liked since I heard it in a movie.

no crap - i thought i was paying $80 for this stupid thing...why am i bombarded with commercials. if i open a game i should be put DIRECTLY into the game, not have to sit through those douchebags talking about stupid "team" cliches.

Wow, Mets were losing 5-1 going into the 9th and scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th to win 6-5 with Wright and Beltran pinch hitting in the 9th after getting a rest. Just like the Red Sox coming back last week against the O's.

That is one great thing about baseball, no clock so a team can always come back if they have an out left.

I was listening to the Dan Patrick show when Stern was on it live. I have never, ever heard DP get his ass handed to him so badly in an argument. Usually it's DP making someone else look like a fool. Stern completely owned him.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.